Searching for Blue
by teen-ah
Summary: This follows the life of a young girl and her father, living on a Chocobo ranch right after the Light of Judgement, and how the appearance of a strange girl changes their lives forever...
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer : I am not writing this fiction for money, and I own nothing. Don't sue me.  
  
Summary : This follows the life of a young girl and her father, living on a Chocobo ranch right after the Light of Judgement, and how a strange young woman becomes an important part of their lives.. slightly A/U, in that Terra doesn't reside with Duane and Katarin in Mobliz. You can guess where she is instead.  
  
Chapter One Alone  
  
I am waking up in a new world. Every morning the water seems to get redder, the sky darker. What happened to clear oceans and lovely sunrises? I used to adore wandering the wilderness, either on foot or on one of our Chocobos. I'd wake up early, leave a note for dad and slide on to Goldy bareback. I understand those animals, and I love them.  
  
There are only three of our Chocobo herd left alive, and Goldy's dead. Everyone's dead, it seems. I never had a mother ; she died when I was born, so it hasn't been much different at home, but when I leave our little shelter I enter a world full of sorrow! I'm constantly searching for familiar faces whenever dad takes me to Tzen, but those quick, careful trips are getting fewer and fewer, what with wild monsters roaming the plains. And the faces I do see are never the ones I want. My only human friend, Tina, is gone. She perished, with her father, into one of the cracks that split open the world and buried its people, leaving her mother all alone.  
  
I'm not allowed to go out anymore without my dad and a Chocobo to escort, and at first I didn't think much of the ban from the outside world. But it's so DULL here! I never knew how boring life could be without the freedom of the pretty, raw wilderness to wander, but I'm finding out now. I can't even stray from the ranch ; the forest is teeming with monsters breeding like rabbits.  
  
But at least I can't see the Tower from here.  
  
Nimbly scaling a tree (I've known how to climb for all my life, it seems, living in a forest), I peer up from the canopy and try to catch a glimpse of blue in the sky. It's my daily routine now, searching for hope. I've pulled every weed and watered every blade of grass on the ranch, trying to drive out the ugliness.  
  
Glancing down, I don't expect to see much, and so when I notice a flash of pale green among the dark bush, I twitch. Oh, great. Have the monsters managed to get into the ranch again? Hoping to scare it away, I hiss, "Treading here will do you no good, demon!"  
  
I can hear the rustling of leaves as the figure collapses, and, my heart pounding like a drum, I slide down the tree trunk, ready to grab onto a branch and hoist myself back up if the monster makes any unexpected movements. They're clever, these forest creatures, and they're mean. The last time a stray demon wandered on to our land, I barely escaped alive. That was several weeks ago, and the absence of danger in my home has made me careless. I should be more careful before I submit myself to the vulnerability of being up in the trees, since many of the monsters are skilled climbers.  
  
Creeping forward, I fumble for my dagger in my pocket, and sigh in relief once the reassuring coldness of the blade stings my hand. Only two more steps, and I'll be close enough for it to attack, if it wants to . . .  
  
"Ugh . . who's there?"  
  
The weak voice stops me dead in my tracks. A human?! And a female, at that! What's she doing in these perilous woods, all alone? Shoving the grass and bush away from her, I look down at her motionless body and gasp.  
  
This is no ordinary woman! Look at the armor she's wearing: Is that crystal mail? A genji glove? A golden shield?!  
  
"Who ARE you?" I blurt out, then practically fall over at my own rudeness. "Um, sorry. Do you need some help? That armor looks, uh, kinda heavy." And expensive! I add in my head.  
  
Her head twitches a little bit, which I guess she meant as a nod, so, gingerly, I hook my arm under her stomach and help her up. She stumbles a bit, but stands straight, and so I remove my arm from her and hope for the best. We make a funny little scene, this tall, green haired girl in warrior's garb and a common rancher's daughter, but there is no one to see but the monsters that lurk in the distance.  
  
"Did you get hurt by a monster?" I ask, once we've made it to our door. A hint of a smile curves her lips upwards, and it's nice to see her grim expression fade. But why is she amused at such a serious question? "No," she says simply. She pauses a moment, as though pondering something, and then says, "I can't remember much . . .only, light. And the airship, it broke apart and fell. . ." Her eyes are dark as she bows her head solemnly. "And I woke up in this forest. Alone. It's been a couple weeks now."  
  
Ah, so it's another survivor. We got several injured citizens from Tzen showing up on our land during the first few days after the Light, but I haven't expected any to come for weeks. How has she survived on her own? And those people were always a pitiful sight ; dirty, shaking and babbling incoherently. Although she's obviously a bit injured, this girl hasn't seemed anything but poised and calm. She almost seems regal, in a mysterious way.  
  
I get lost in my trail of thought, but suddenly I realise what she just said. Airship?! Has she gone mad? Who ever heard of such a ridiculous notion? There's no such thing as airships. What silliness. I eye her warily, wondering about this peculiar girl that has stumbled into our ranch.  
  
"Who's this?" my father cries once he sees her. By now I've gotten used to her strange appearance, and for a moment I frown, wondering why he would be so shocked. But then, deciding to look her over from a stranger's eye, I can see why he's so surprised. With her bright green hair and thin body covered in glimmering armor, she is a rather bizarre spectacle.  
  
"I'm not sure," I shrug. "She says the last thing she can remember is the Light. Apparently she's just been roaming around, alone, for the past few weeks." I choose, wisely, not to mention her crazy ideas about an airship of some sort.  
  
She stares at the ground quietly, not moving, not making a sound. In fact, she's so still that for a moment I wonder if she's alive. And then she whispers something inaudible, resting her forehead on her hand. I guess she's tired. "We don't have any extra beds, but I'm sure we can construct a makeshift one for now," dad tells her. I nod and groan inwardly, knowing that for the next few hours I'll be shovelling hay into sacks. I get to work immediately.  
  
By the time night falls, I've managed to build a reasonably comfortable bed. We dress the girl's wounds, give her something to eat and let her sleep.  
  
It seems that life on this ranch is going to get a bit more interesting!  
  
A/N : Well, that's it for chapter one. Sorry it's so short. Could you find it in your hearts to review anyway? ^_^ 


	2. Making Plans

So here's chapter 2! I know it looked like I wasn't going to continue with this fic, and I wasn't actually planning to, originally, but I decided "why not?" and went on to write this chapter. Again, it's short. Only about three pages on my word processor, but please review anyway! ^_^  
  
Chapter 2 Making Plans  
  
"I don't like it, Nadia." These are the first words that come from my father's lips, once we're alone again. It's not late enough for us to be in bed yet, and I'm about to go tend to the Chocobos before I nod off. But it seems I won't be able to tend to them just yet. Dad looks seriously mad.  
  
I frown. "She was alone, dad, and seemed quite helpless-"  
  
"Then how do you explain the armor on her?! She didn't look so helpless to me! That was warrior's garb, Nadia! Tell me, what if she's a spy for Kefka? What will you do then?"  
  
I roll my eyes. "Oh, c'mon, dad. What would Kefka want with a little Chocobo ranch? We're of no use to him. I'm sure he doesn't need a couple scrawny Chocobos." Then, as an afterthought, "And besides, he's weak now. Used up all his energy on screwing up the world."  
  
Dad glares. "How would you know that? What if he's just pretending . . . leading us all to believe he's gone, and then striking again. . . aren't you even *worried*, Nadia? You lost your best friend in the first disaster!"  
  
"No," I whisper, eyes slits, shivering with fury. "You will *not* talk about Tina right now." I watch him sigh, knowing he's gone too far. He starts to apologize, but I interrupt.  
  
"Just . . . don't do anything stupid, dad. Like stabbing our guest in her sleep, or something equally morbid." I know he won't like my cheek, but I don't care. Why is he panicking like this? The girl certainly hasn't seemed threatening ; au contraire, she seems awfully demure to me.  
  
Sighing, I turn my back to my father and leave the room before he can explode on me. Honestly, he can be so *ridiculous* sometimes.  
  
Outside, I stare up at the murky red sky and sigh. If this had only happened several months ago. . . well, more like years ago, really (people have been on their guard ever since the Empire began to grow more powerful) dad wouldn't have been so upset. He'd have probably welcomed a change, ushering the girl in with open arms, proudly showing off the ranch. . .and, I thought, grinning in spite of myself, trying to get a sale on the newest additions to our herd of Chocobos. Dad used to be obsessed with business. Now, it seems, all he cares about is nagging me about safety, inventing new rules.  
  
That's probably because we haven't had a new customer in several months. Business is at an all time low, and we are suffering along with the rest of the world. Even the rich merchants are having a hard time, since there are no longer so many customers lined up, trying to buy their goods. People are having a hard enough time scrounging up enough money to put food on the table, never mind buying expensive spices to flavour it! And as for our Chocobos, who's going on camping trips or mountain hikes in these troublesome times, anyway, unless they want to get mauled by a monster?  
  
My thoughts wander back to the girl. Even if she is a spy for Kefka, I would almost be glad to have her here anyway, just for a change. Things have been so unbearably dull lately. . .  
  
A sudden squawk from a Chocobo snaps me back to reality. I stroke the smooth golden feathers soothingly, patting his beak as he "warks" several times with appreciation. Dad wouldn't be happy if he knew my mind was wandering like this while I'm supposed to be grooming the Chocobos. At least there's one advantage to only having three of the troublesome creatures to look after ; they're better groomed than any of the herd used to be, before the Light. Beaks shiny, plumage immaculate, their long muscular legs flexed in hope of going on a week long wilderness trek, like I used to do. Before the Light. Always, everything is Before the Light.  
  
My body instantly flinches in reflex as I hear the rustling of hay behind me, expecting a monster to lunge. But no, it's the girl, up again. She's discarded her armor and wears a red dress and brown boots. Not quite so warrior-like now, is she, Dad?  
  
"What are you doing up again?" I ask, then gulp. The question was meant as a kind inquiry, but I'm so annoyed with Dad right now that I'm sure it seemed like I'd snapped at the girl.  
  
But she just smiles hazily. "I couldn't sleep. I'm not really used to sleeping on a bed, after all this time . . ." She must mean while she was wandering the forest. I guess several weeks could seem like forever, on your own like that.  
  
"Can I ask you something?" I say, consciously trying to make my voice softer. She nods worldlessly. I stop petting the Chocobo for a moment and look at her seriously. "How did you manage to survive, on your own, in the woods like that? I mean, they're literally *teeming* with monsters. Even well armored men probably wouldn't keep alive longer than a couple days."  
  
She is silent, as though pondering how to reply. At last she murmurs, "Well, I've had - quite a bit of experience, fighting monsters."  
  
For a moment my breath is taken away. Surely she couldn't mean . . . was that a confession to working for the Empire? Only Emperor Gestahl's soldiers are the ones that are able to take on the demons roaming the world right now. I gape at her, then promptly shut my mouth when I notice her perplexed stare.  
  
"Why do you look scared, Nadia?" she asks. There's a profound sadness in her gaze, its origin something I can't fathom. If this were one of Gestahl's soldiers, I try to reason with myself, she'd be sneering arrogantly at me. Or boasting about all her brave accomplishments. But she does neither. She just . . .watches. There's something unearthly in her eyes that makes me uncomfortable.  
  
"Uh . . .no reason," I lie hastily. "But since you know my name, I think it's about time you told me yours."  
  
"Terra," she replies quickly. She doesn't give me a last name.  
  
"'Kay . . .hey!" My eyes are now wide open with excitement at a thought I've just had. "Exactly *how* well can you fend for yourself out in the woods?" I ask eagerly. She frowns at me bemusedly, but answers politely,  
  
"Quite well. None of the monsters have given me trouble so far." Normally I'd be amazed at this answer, but right now my mind is working too fast to marvel at her reply.  
  
"Well, I was just wondering, I mean, if you want to, but . . . how would you like to accompany me on a Chocobo trip to Tzen?"  
  
She stares evenly at me, and then a calm sort of happiness flashes across her face. "I'd - I'd love to. . . you know these woods, then? I couldn't find my way out, before, and I got lost. . ."  
  
"Oh, there'd be no problem with *that*," I say smugly, trying to keep myself from jumping around with glee. "I've been to Tzen forty thousand times with Dad and the Chocobos. We used to go every week, before . . ."  
  
"Before The Light," she says matter-of-factly. I nod. "I'd love to - to go to Tzen, Nadia. I mean . . .I've been meaning to look for some friends of mine, and -" There's a desperate look on her pale otherwordly face now. I think I understand. I know what it is to be searching for someone you know after disaster, and an unexpected ache suddenly grasps my chest. *Tina*. . . But no. There's no time to brood now. I'm *finally* going to *go* somewhere!  
  
And now, my only problem is convincing Dad to let me. 


End file.
